Home Alone
by Show Expert 1
Summary: Four criminals decide to strike a neighborhood while everyone is out for the holidays. What they didn't expect was a series of traps and such by someone who is home alone. Who is this one person? A six year old girl named Nashi who was accidentally left home alone while her family is in Paris.
1. A Six Year Old's Problems

Christmas is considered the most wonderful time of the year. It's also one of the busiest. Everyone's in a frantic most of the time, but not because of shopping. Some people are planning to go on vacation. An example of that is in a large house under the ownership of the Dragneels. They had their friends and their children over for the holidays. There's the Fullbusters with their son and daughter. The Scarlets with their son. The Dreyars with their daughter and son. As well as the Redfoxes with their son. The Dragneels, Lucy and her husband Natsu, decided to have a large trip and go to Paris for the holidays.

"Excuse me."

"Hey kids." Two police officers, a blonde male and a woman with green hair, were trying to get the attention of whoever walked by, children or adult. "What is with these guys? No one respects the badge."

"Shut up." The woman said. She saw a woman with red hair, Erza, walk by and grabbed her arm. "Excuse me. Who is the owner of this big house?"

"That would be Mr. Dragneel and his wife. Excuse me." Erza said as she walked off. Everyone wouldn't stay in one place.

"Wonder what they're all frantic about." The male officer said.

"Just be patient. Play it cool." The woman said. Everyone was moving about while the real owners of the house were upstairs in their room packing.

"Yes. A suite for five families." Lucy said as she was over the phone. "In total, there are seventeen of us. Ten adults and seven children."

"Mommy!" As she was talking over the phone, their daughter was coming in. This little girl with pink hair who is also only six is Nashi Dragneel. "Mommy, Mr. Redfox is being a real jerk. He won't let me watch his movies."

"Not now, Nashi. I'm on the phone." Lucy said and tried to stay focus on the hotel. "Yes, but we'll all be splitting the bill for it."

"Mom, Mr. Redfox won't let me watch any of his movies. It's not fair." Nashi said.

"I'm sure it's because you're not old enough to watch it." Lucy said.

"Lucy, have you seen my razor?" Natsu asked as he came on in. "I can't find it. How am I suppose to shave up there?"

"Grow a goatee for all I care." Lucy said and tried to stay on the phone. As for Nashi, she saw something in their bag and was digging it out. "Nashi, I just packed all that. Will you please leave?"

"Make me." Nashi said.

"Natsu, do something about her." Lucy said.

"Come here, honey." Natsu said as he lifted her up. "How about you go play with the kids or something."

"I don't want to. The boys are jerks." Nashi said.

"So go play with the girls." Natsu said. That was just about when Erza came walking in.

"Natsu, there are a couple cops here to see you. Pizza should also be here soon." Erza said.

"Okay. Can you take this big pile of dough?" Natsu said. He handed Nashi over to Erza and Lucy and Natsu got back to work.

"You're starting to get a little heavy, sweetie." Erza said as she placed Nashi on the ground. "You better go pack for Paris tomorrow." Nashi was let go, but she felt like she was brushed off. When you're an only child that's only six, you feel like you always have mommy's and daddy's attention. So it's not easy for Nashi to be ignored like that.

"Hey, Nashi." Erza's son, Simon, said as he came on over. "What's the matter?"

"Mom and Dad won't stop talking about Paris. They've been ignoring me and I don't like it." Nashi said.

"They're not ignoring you." Simon said.

"They're not?" Nashi said.

"No. How can you ignore someone with freaky hair like that?" Simon said and laughed as he left. That might have hurt Nashi's feelings, but the kids around here are only around six. How do they know any better?

"What's the matter, Nashi?" Nova, the daughter of the Dreyar family, asked.

"The boys are jerks and grown-ups can be mean." Nashi said. "Will you help me pack? I've never done it on my own before."

"Sure." Nova agreed until Nova's father, Laxus, came by.

"Nova, your mother wants you downstairs for something." Laxus said.

"Sorry, Nashi." Nova said and went downstairs.

"Something wrong, Nashi?" Laxus asked. "You should be happy. We're off to Paris tomorrow? Say, do you know what your name means in French?" Nashi didn't and all did was mess Nashi's hair up to make her look crazy. Laxus laughed, but Nashi was just annoyed. Nashi didn't like having all these people in the house, but she's only six and there isn't much she can do.

"Bang! Got you!" Nashi looked in one of the guest rooms and saw Gale Redfox and Storm Fullbuster playing with a squirt gun and one gun that was for shooting suction cups.

"Hey! Those are mine!" Nashi said.

"Our moms said we could play with them." Gale said.

"No one said it was okay with me." Nashi said.

"Don't be a baby." Storm said. "Your mom says that since we're here, you have to be nice to us."

"Not fair." Nashi said as she feels like she can't do anything in her own house.

"Hey, look at that." Storm said as all three of them went over to the window and saw Nashi's elderly neighbor shoveling some snow. "Oh boy, Nashi. I hope you're nice to him."

"It's just Mr. Grubber." Nashi said.

"You mean you don't know?" Storm said.

"Know what?" Gale said.

"They say that old man is a murderer." Storm said. "They say he murdered his own son because he just disappeared one day. He didn't stop there. He takes that shovel of his, knocks them out, and drags them away to never be seen again."

"Why don't the police arrest him?" Gale asked.

"They say they don't have enough evidence." Storm said. "You know what I heard his favorite victims are." He creeped over to Nashi to whisper in her ears. "Little girls." He yelped in her ear and scared Nashi as she ran off with both of the boys laughing. These past few days have been hectic for everyone and the worst is yet to come. Starting with how a pizza van just pulled up to the house and the cops were talking to two little children, Ul Fullbuster and Damien Dreyar.

"Will you two stop staring at us?" The male officer said.

"Could you two children be nice enough to get the people that own this house?" The female cop said. They heard a knock on the door and the lady got the door opened.

"Okay. I've got six different kinds of pizza. That would be about seventy-two dollars." The pizza boy said and was handing it for them.

"Not for us. We don't live here." The male cop said.

"Around for the holidays?" The pizza boy asked.

"Something like that." The female cop said.

"Pizza!" Gray Fullbuster called as he grabbed some and everyone was gathering in the kitchen. Natsu was coming down with the money.

"Here you go. Merry Christmas." Natsu said as he handed the boy money and he was on his way out. "Officers, I heard you were looking for me."

"You're Mr. Dragneel?" The lady cop asked.

"Is there a problem?" Natsu asked.

"No. I'm Officer Kyoka. This is my partner, Jackal. We're just running a check on things around here."

"Check on things?" Natsu questioned.

"There've been a lot of break-ins and a lot of people will be leaving for the holidays." Jackal said. "We just want to make sure everything in this house will be safe and secure. Are you people leaving for a holiday trip?"

"Yeah. We're heading for Paris." Natsu said. "A family trip with a bunch of our friends." As Natsu was talking, everyone gathered in the kitchen for the pizza.

"I hope you're all drinking milk because I'm throwing it out." Lucy said.

"Lucy, it's settled." Levy said. "Gajeel will watch the kids with Erza. If we wake up early, we'll reach the airport about an hour before our flight."

"Thanks, Levy." Lucy said. "I can't wait to get to Paris and just spend the holidays, relaxing."

"Easy for you to say." Gray said. "You only have one kid to worry about usually, but multiple kids together will be a real handful." As Nashi went in she was looking for a certain kind of pizza.

"Where's all the plain cheese?" Nashi said.

"Sorry, last slice." Storm said as he ate it. "Everyone likes plain cheese pizza. Try being a little more open and less picky."

"I'm not picky." Nashi said as she was getting annoyed.

"Please, Nashi." Storm said. "Your family might be a little wealthy, but you act like one of those spoiled princesses in those stories we heard. Well, your majesty, stop being a pain." Storm finished off the pizza and Nashi couldn't take it anymore and she tackled Storm and started fighting with him. When she did that, it caused the whole kitchen to go into chaos. It was becoming a mess and people were getting in a hectic with Natsu running in.

"What's going on?" Natsu said.

"Nashi, stop it!" Lucy said as she pulled her daughter off. Storm was about to get her, but Gray held his son back.

"What happened?" Natsu said.

"It's her fault. She started it." Storm said.

"What is the matter with you?" Lucy asked.

"It's not my fault. He's the one acting like a jerk. Why do all these people have to be here?" Nashi said.

"Sounds like you're the jerk, Nashi." Laxus said, but his wife, Mira, smacked him in the arm for that.

"Okay, enough." Natsu said. "Nashi, you've been acting more active than usual. Get upstairs."

"I don't want to." Nashi said.

"Too bad." Lucy said as she pulled Nashi by the arm and took her out while everyone tried to clean the place. As they did, they didn't notice that a plane ticket was placed in the trash by accident.

"Honestly, Nashi, we have enough problems going on around here without you acting out." Lucy said.

"Is everything okay?" Jackal asked.

"Officers?! I'm sorry. This house has just been crazy and this one here just made a mess." Lucy said.

"I didn't do anything." Nashi said as she tried to fight back.

"This one has got some spunk." Kyoka said. "Still, you might want to watch it, little girl. Santa doesn't come for the naughty ones." Nashi glared at both cops and was able to get a good look at both of their faces.

"I'll be right back. I have to deal with this one." Lucy said as she took her upstairs.

"Your husband covered everything. We just need to know what time you're leaving." Kyoka said.

"Tomorrow morning." Lucy said. Both the cops smirked at each other and were on their way out.

"Suckers. Mard Geer's going to love this." Jackal said, but Kyoka smacked him on the head for talking out loud.

"There are seventeen people in this house and you're the only one acting out." Lucy said as they made it to the second floor. "Dad and I told you, you have to be on your best behavior."

"But Mom, let me explain." Nashi said.

"I don't want to hear it. There is no excuse for your behavior." Lucy said as they stopped at a door. "Just get upstairs."

"I'm already upstairs, stupid." Nashi said. Lucy opened the door and showed more stairs and Nashi didn't like it. "The attic?"

"You'll be fine. We put a bed up there and there's room." Lucy said. "Maybe this will teach you not to act out." Nashi didn't mean to. She's just a little annoyed with all that's been going on.

"I'm sorry." Nashi said.

"It's too late. Just get up there." Lucy said. Nashi climbed the stairs, but she was still mad.

"This actually your fault. You're the one who suggested this whole trip." Nashi said. "I don't even want to go to Paris."

"Too bad. We can't leave you home alone." Lucy said.

"I actually want to be alone." Nashi said as she was saying things she thought would hurt her mother. "I be better off without you anyway."

"Just get up there. I don't want to hear another word from you until we leave." Lucy said.

"I don't want to see you anymore." Nashi said. "I don't want to see any of these jerks anymore and that includes you. Sometimes I wish they all just disappear and that means you."

"Nashi, I know you don't mean that." Lucy said.

"I do." Nashi said and ran upstairs. Lucy just closed the door and left Nashi alone. Nashi ran up to the bed and buried her face in the pillows and cried. Her own mother wouldn't even listen to her. Nashi didn't mean for most of that stuff. She's only six and doesn't know much better. Not having someone listen to you, feeling like everyone is a jerk, and dealing with so many people at once when you're an only child is hard on a six year old and it's even harder when two of them are your own parents. So Nashi stayed up there all night, but while everyone was sleeping, the wind picked up and it knocked out some powerlines and it took out the power for a while. This was just the prologue of something big.


	2. She's All Alone

A couple drivers drove up to the Dragneel house. They were expecting everyone out there, but no one was even answering the door. Everyone was asleep after last night and the power was taken out last night. Lucy woke up enough to look at the clock, but when she saw it wasn't working right, she looked at the clock on her phone.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted and they both jumped out of bed. It didn't take Natsu long to see what the problem was.

"We slept in!" Both of them shouted and got moving. Everyone was moving as fast as they could and getting their stuff together. As all the craziness was going on inside, a little girl that lived just across the street was walking over.

"Hi. I'm Sally Murphy. I live across the street. I wanted to see the Dragneels off." Sally was outside talking to the drivers. Meanwhile, everyone was moving as fast as they can to get everything in order.

"Who has the plane tickets?" Lucy said.

"I got them! They needed to be cleaned after last night." Gajeel said.

"Good. Levy, I need you to do a count. Make sure all the children are accounted for." Lucy said.

"Got it." Levy said. Everything seemed in order with them, but they had to move fast or else they were going to miss their plane. Once they believed they had everything, all of them hurried out.

"Hi. Are you all really going to Paris?" Sally said, but no one even seemed to have noticed her. A bag was thrown into one of the vans and Sally was feeling a little nosy. "Cool. What's this?" Sally dug around through the bag when she really shouldn't have.

"Kids, line up!" Levy said and all the kids do what she said. "I need to do a count to make sure you're all here. One, two, three, four, five…." She mistakenly thought Sally was one of their kids and didn't even notice. "…six, seven. Okay. Doesn't matter what van you get in. Just do half and half." Sally backed away and all the kids got in whichever van they wanted.

"There's no way we're going to make the flight on time." Gray said.

"Come on, Gray. Think positive." Natsu said as he locked up the house.

"You think positive." Gajeel said.

"We'll be realistic." Laxus said.

"No, Natsu's right. We can still make it." Jellal said. All of them got in the vans and were ready to go.

"Levy, did you do a count? Is everyone accounted for?" Lucy asked.

"Ten parents, seven kids, two drivers, but we're missing numbers nine, eight, six, five, four, three, and one." Levy said. "We have an incomplete twelve days of Christmas."

"Funny." Lucy said and the two vans drove off.

"Bye! Have fun!" Sally said as she waved goodbye.

…

The Airport

They didn't have much time left before their plane left. All of them ran as fast as they could through the airport. All of them could see it just ahead and the gates were still open with the lady seeing them coming.

"Did we miss the plane to Paris?" Natsu asked.

"No. You just made it." The lady said and all of them were relief about that.

"Kids in coach with Mr. Redfox and Mrs. Scarlet! The rest of us are in first class." Lucy said. All of them ran inside and was getting to where they needed. As all the kids went in coach with Gajeel and Erza, all the other parents were shown to first class.

"Here you go." The flight attendant said.

"Thank you." Juvia said.

"What a relief." Gray said as they all took a seat.

"Can't believe we made it." Levy said.

"They don't call it Christmas miracles for nothing." Jellal said as the two of them sat together.

"Lucy, I have to say that this was a great idea." Mirajane said.

"Thank you." Lucy said as she felt like she could relax for the first time in a while. "I'm just glad we were even able to make it. I hope we didn't forget anything."

"Nah. We're fine." Natsu said. "The house is locked up and the kids are safe with Gajeel and Erza. What could we have possibly forgotten?"

…..

The Dragneel House

They actually did forget something. Something that was important. That something was Nashi herself. No one thought to go upstairs to get her. Nashi came out from the attic and she thought everyone was still home. What she wasn't aware of was that the plane was already leaving and she got left behind. Nashi went to the living room and turned on the television for her shows. Then, she went in the kitchen to get some breakfast, but she realized that no one was around.

"Mom?! Mommy?! Daddy?!" Nashi called out, but there wasn't a sign of anyone around. "Mr. and Mrs. Fullbuster?! Storm?! Ul?!" Nashi had a look around the house, but she didn't see anyone in the house.

…..

The Plane

After a stressful night and morning, everyone was on the plane and just relaxing with some breakfast. No one even seems to have noticed that Nashi was around.

"Don't you feel bad sitting in first class while the kids are back in coach?" Lucy said.

"Relax. We know the kids will be well behaved because Gajeel and Erza are back there." Natsu said. "Everything's fine. The house is fine. We're going to have a nice time in Paris." Lucy thought so too, but once they realize Nashi is missing, their trip isn't going to be all that much fun.

….

Nashi

"Hello! Where is everyone?" Nashi said. She had a look around the house, but she couldn't find anyone. Nashi looked around the house and it soon led her to the basement. "Mr. Redfox?! Mrs. Dreyar?! Mr. Dreyar, is this a joke?! Hello." Nashi looked around the basement, but she didn't see anyone. Suddenly, Nashi heard a strange sound and turned to the furnace. It was just a normal furnace, but Nashi was a little afraid of the basement and the furnace looked like something else.

"Nashi!" Nashi's imagination got the better of her and thought the furnace was some sort of monster. Nashi got scared and ran out of there as fast she could.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Nashi shouted, but there wasn't a sign of anyone. "Did they forget me? Did they all leave for Paris?" Nashi was pretty upset about that. She was in a big house and was all by herself. "I'm home alone." Nashi did think that was bad, but she had a change of attitude. "I'm home alone!" She said as she began to think that was a good thing. She thought how everyone acted like a jerk to her and now no one can stop her from doing what she wanted. Nashi jumped around on the bed, running around the house like a lunatic. She's doing all the things she couldn't do if her parents were home. "This is so much fun!" Nashi was enjoying her time alone. Wouldn't you if you were home alone for the first time? Nashi continued her fun as she found one of the movies that Gajeel didn't allow her to watch. "How bad can this movie be?" Nashi placed it in as she helped herself to a ton of ice cream.

"You expect me to forgive you?" The main character in the movie said. "Yeah. I know who you are, but you know who I am don't you? Around here, they call me Snake because I can be like one."

"This doesn't look so bad." Nashi said. "I wonder why Mr. Redfox wouldn't want me to watch it."

"Okay. I'll loan you some." The main character said as he passed some money. "Keep the change, you filthy animal. Now, I'm going to give you the count of three to get out. One….. Two….." Nashi covered her eyes and with this part, but she could hear the sounds of guns going off. "Three." Nashi reached for the remote and turned the movie off. Now she's wishing she wasn't home alone.

"Mommy!" Nashi shouted.

…..

The Plane

Somehow, Nashi's cry reached Lucy. Something overcame Lucy and she started searching around her purse for something.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked.

"I'm not sure. I just have a bad feeling. I just feel like something is wrong." Lucy said.

"You probably just feel that way because we left in a hurry. Everything is fine." Natsu said.

"I know, but….it feels like something is missing." Lucy said. "You know, Nashi has actually been pretty quiet since we left. I haven't heard from her all day."

"You don't think she's still upset about last night?" Natsu said.

"I think I'm just going to go check on her. Make sure everything is okay." Lucy said as she got out of her seat and went to check it out. Lucy made her way to coach and spotted Erza and Gajeel.

"Hey, Lucy. Something wrong?" Erza asked.

"I'm just checking on Nashi. Do you know where she is?" Lucy asked, but Gajeel and Erza looked at each other.

"Actually, no." Erza said.

"I haven't heard anything out of her." Gajeel said. Lucy thought that was strange. Lucy went on ahead and went looking for Nashi. Lucy searched around the seats to see Nashi, but she didn't see her anywhere. Lucy was starting to get scared the more she didn't see Nashi. When she reached the end and didn't see her daughter anywhere, she started to panic. Lucy hurried back to first class and was really scared now.

"Natsu!" Lucy called as she came right back in and everyone saw she was upset.

"What?! What's the matter?" Natsu said.

"I can't find Nashi anywhere! She's not on the plane." Lucy said.

"What?!" Natsu said as he was starting to freak out. The others heard her too and they were getting anxious. "She has to be on the plane. Where else could she be? She's probably just pulling a prank or something."

"Well, what did she say when you went upstairs to get her?" Lucy asked. When she asked that, Natsu almost felt himself going stiff.

"I thought…you went upstairs to get her…." Natsu said that and when he did, Lucy felt like she just got the wind knocked out of her.

"No…" Lucy said and turned to the others. "Did any of you go upstairs to get Nashi?" All of them were telling her they didn't and that's when Lucy realized it, the worst thing that could have happened on this trip.

"Oh my gosh…" Lucy said as she grabbed Natsu by the shirt. "Nashi is home alone!"


	3. The First Encounter

Nashi might have gotten scared from the movies, but she isn't letting that stop her from having some fun and doing things she probably shouldn't be doing. Nashi grabbed her sled and was getting ready to ride it down the stairs. She more she aimed it right for the door.

"Here we go." Nashi said as she sat on the sled and slid right down. She rode down the stairs and ended up riding right the door and in the front yard. "Yes!" Nashi was having a great time being home by herself. That changed when she heard a shoveling sound. She looked to the side and saw Mr. Grubber there. Still thinking he was a dangerous man, she ran back into the house as fast as she could. She might enjoy being home alone, but it does have its downs.

…

The Plane

As soon as they realized Nashi was left home alone, Natsu almost had a panic attack and Lucy was in shock. All their friends were doing their best to comfort them, but they were all pretty freaked about it themselves.

"It's going to be okay." Mirajane said as she sat right next to Lucy and tried to comfort her.

"How can we do this? We forgot her" Lucy said.

"We didn't forget her." Natsu said.

"What kind of mother am I?" Lucy said.

"We didn't do this on purpose." Natsu said. "Obviously there's been some sort of accident. There was some sort of miscount."

"I'm really sorry, Lucy. I'm partly to blame." Levy said. "I don't know what could have happened. I counted all seven kids, but I guess I miscounted somehow."

"Miscounted?!" Lucy said as she reached behind her chair and started shaking Levy around. "How could you not see that my own daughter was not there?!"

"Lucy, stop!" Natsu said as he was able to get her to let Levy go and turned Lucy to her. "Look, there's nothing we can do until the plane lands. Once it does, we'll call someone to go check on her and get last minute tickets to head straight home to get her."

"Oh… My baby." Lucy said as she was scared out of her mind. "She must be so scared. Who knows what could be happening to her?"

….

The Neighborhood

"Look at that." Kyoka said as she and Jackal ditch the police costumes and stood out in the neighborhood in the middle of the night. "An entire neighborhood of empty houses. This is practically a goldmine."

"Here they come." Jackal said as they saw a van pull up to them. Inside were two others. One with blonde hair and tan skin and the other had long black hair tied back. Kyoka and Jackal opened the van and hopped in.

"Kyoka and Jackal, how did it go?" The one in black said.

"Just as you said, Mard Geer." Kyoka said. "We managed to get the information out of almost every house on this street. They all practically gave us the security clothes and everything."

"What a bunch of morons." Jackal said. "All of them went to take some trip than stay home for the holidays. This is your best idea yet, boss."

"Thank you." Mard Geer said. "A whole bunch of houses with many valuables just waiting to be taken and no one really around to stop us. Are you ready, Tempester?"

"Of course." The last one said. "So which one shall we be hitting first? The small ones and then go into the big ones?"

"No." Mard Geer said. "One should always deal with the more important issues and not procrastinate. One of the best around this neighborhood. That would be the one under the Dragneel name. Kyoka? What's the status on that one?"

"Vacant." Kyoka said. "Everyone who was in there was gone this morning. It's all ripe for the taking."

"Excellent." Mard Geer said and the van started driving up.

…..

Nashi

Nashi wore herself out having so much running around the house. She ended up falling asleep in front of the T.V. As she was asleep, the van pulled up and the four of them stepped out. As they all slammed the car doors, they actually woke up Nashi.

"This is going to be good." Jackal said.

"Let's go in through the back." Mard Geer said.

"Why can't we go in through the front?" Jackal said. "There isn't anyone around. They all should be gone."

"I'm not one to take chances. The families might not be gone, but that doesn't mean that someone won't see something later." Mard Geer said.

"They haven't caught us before." Tempester said.

"There's a reason Mard Geer is in charge. Just do it." Kyoka said. All four of them moved around the house. Nashi saw their shadows through the window and was starting to get scared. "There should be a door that leads to the basement in the back. There shouldn't be any security system connected down there."

"Perfect. It will be much harder to see anything through there as well." Mard Geer said as they all went around the back. All of them went down the stairs and went to a door that led to the basement.

"Jackal, do you have a crowbar?" Tempester said.

"Right here." Jackal said as he pulled it out and was ready to break the door open. Nashi got up and acted fast. She ran around the house and turned all the lights on thinking it would get them to go away. Nashi ran towards the basement and flipped a switch that turned the lights on and they noticed it.

"I thought you two said they were gone this morning?" Mard Geer said.

"That's owner told us." Kyoka said.

"Let's get out of here." Tempester said.

"Agreed. We'll come back tomorrow night." Mard Geer said and the four of them left before they believed anyone would see anything. Nashi got scared and she ran up to her parents' bedroom and hid there and wasn't fully aware that they left.

…..

Paris

The plane landed down in Paris, but as soon as it landed, Lucy and everyone else got out of there as fast as they could. Lucy headed straight for a payphone, but someone was already using it.

"Excuse me. It's an emergency and I really need to use that phone." Lucy said.

"Pardon?" The lady said in French.

"Please. A little girl is home all by herself. Something might be happening to her." Mirajane said.

"Forget it. This is urgent." Gajeel said as he just snatched the phone and moved the lady away. He handed the phone over to Lucy.

"Okay. Call everyone you can around there." Lucy said as she took out her own phone. "Levy, Mira, call anyone you can from my phone. Get in contact with someone." Lucy was really nervous and she didn't even notice she was on the phone with someone else. "Hello? She'll call you back." She ended the call and dialed up the police.

"Police."

"Hello. I'm calling from Paris. My daughter is home alone and we don't have any way of contacting her." Lucy said. "I need someone to go see if she's okay and tell her we're on our way home."

"Okay. Let me connect you to family crisis and emergency."

"No. It's not exactly like that." Lucy said, but the lady on the other switched it over to another cop.

"Family crisis line."

"Hello. I'm calling from Paris and my six year old daughter is home alone." Lucy said.

"Is the child in the care of a drunk and/or ill guardian?"

"No." Lucy said.

"Has the child been involved in some sort of accident?"

"I don't know. I hope not." Lucy said.

"Has the child ingest poison or is there a large object stuck in her throat?"

"I don't know! She's home alone!" Lucy said. "Any of those can be happening! So I need someone to go check on her, make sure she's safe!"

"You want us to go over to your house just to check on your kid?" The cop asked as he thought that was a strange request to ask an officer.

"Yes! She could be in danger right now!" Lucy said.

"Let me transfer you to the department."

"No they just transferred me to you." Lucy said, but it was too late. While she was waiting, she was checking on the others. "Anything?"

"Nothing." Erza said.

"Sorry, Lucy." Jellal said.

"Mira? Levy?" Lucy asked.

"We couldn't get anyone either from your phone." Mirajane said.

"All we got were voicemails. Everyone is out." Levy said. This has not been Lucy's day so far.

"Somebody pick up. Pick up!" Lucy said.

"Hello, ma'am. We understand the situation. So we're going to send someone to check on your daughter." That was a relief to Lucy.

…

Nashi

The police send someone over to check on Nashi. Nashi heard knocking on the door, but she didn't come out of the bed. After what happened, she was too scared to go and look. The officer kept banging on the door, but no one was answering.

"No one's answering. House looks secure. Must have been someone's idea of a prank." The officer said on the radio. Since he believed no one was home, he just drove off and Nashi was on her own again.

….

Paris Airport

"You don't have anything?" Natsu said.

"I'm sorry, sir. All our flights are booked." The lady said. "It is the holidays and we usually get busy around this time." Natsu couldn't believe this.

"Are you sure there isn't anything you can do?" Natsu said.

"No. I'm very sorry." The lady said.

"Hey." Lucy said as she came over. "The police are going to send someone to check on Nashi. Any luck getting us home?"

"No. Everything is booked. The best they can do is a return flight on Friday." Natsu said.

"That's in two days." Lucy said. "I'm not leaving my daughter alone for that long. Isn't there anything else? What about a private plane?"

"I'm sorry, but we do not do that here." The lady said. Lucy and Natsu couldn't believe this. Their only child is alone and they can't get to her.

"Okay. Let's just head to the hotel and we can think of something there." Natsu said.

"Natsu, Nashi is home alone. I'm not leaving this airport unless it's by plane." Lucy said.

"I know. I'm worried about her too, but what else can we do?" Natsu said.

"Madam, if you like, you can wait here at the airport." The lady said. "It is possible that something will open up through cancellation or some other reason and a seat will be open."

"Okay. Natsu, you should head to the hotel with the others." Lucy said. "Maybe you can keep getting in touch with someone to make sure Nashi will be okay until we can get to her."

"No way. I'm not leaving you alone here. I'm not spending Christmas without you and Nashi." Natsu said.

"Natsu is more likely one seat will open instead of two." Lucy said. "I'll be fine. Nashi is the one I'm worried about. We'll be fine spending Christmas a couple days later." Natsu could see that there was no talking Lucy out of this. So after saying goodbyes, Lucy stayed at the airport and everyone else was there for Natsu as they headed for the hotel.

….

Nashi

Nashi hasn't heard of anything for a while. When she thought the coast was clear, she came out from the bed and was careful.

"Hello?" Nashi called as she wasn't sure if anyone was around or not. Nashi knew she had to go and look for herself. Nashi made it all the way to the front door and walked out in the snow. She didn't see a sign of anyone around. "Hello?!" She called again, but whoever she heard a little while ago wasn't there anymore. Nashi didn't feel so scared anymore….until she heard Mr. Grubber outside and saw him looking right at her. Nashi got scared again and ran right back to the house. Lucy better get back soon or that little girl is going to be in big trouble.


	4. Regrets of Being Alone

Last night might have been a little scary for Nashi, but she was able to pull through the next morning. Since no one was home to tell her to get dressed or anything, she decided to do it all herself. Despite what has happened the past couple days, she's actually a well behaved little girl. She's just not use to sharing the house with so many people or being alone. She was finishing grooming herself in the bathroom, but she noticed something was missing.

"Where's my toothbrush?" Nashi said as she looked around for it, but she didn't see the one she usually uses. "I guess I'll just have to go buy one." Nashi figured she will have to buy a new toothbrush, but she's going to need money. Luckily, Nashi knows where her parents keep some spare money. Nashi went right into the bedroom, but she was a little hesitant to open a drawer. She opened it either way and dug around it. She found what she was looking for and found some spare cash, but a piece of Natsu's underwear was sticking to it. "Eew, Daddy." Once Nashi got the money she needed, she went out of the house and on her own. Since it was daylight, she felt safer. Right after Nashi left, Mard Geer and the others pulled up in their van and was scoping the place out.

"Jackal, see anything?" Mard Geer asked as Jackal watched the house through some binoculars. He was trying to see if anyone was in there.

"I don't see anyone." Jackal said.

"I'm telling you. The owners said so themselves that they would be gone yesterday." Kyoka said.

"So how do you explain those lights coming on?" Tempester said.

"I don't know." Kyoka said. "Maybe those light have motion sensors in them. We probably just activated them when we walked over. They just didn't mention that part."

"Mard Geer, what do you think?" Jackal asked. Mard Geer thought it over and he wasn't so sure.

"I say we comeback tonight and try again." Mard Geer said. "Something doesn't seem quite right. In the meantime, let's fit a few smaller houses so all of this wasn't for nothing." Mard Geer was the boss and he was a cunning man. So the three of them just rolled with it. What they didn't know was that Nashi was home and that might cause some problems.

…

Nashi

Nashi was able to make it to a store safely by herself. All she was looking for was a toothbrush. Just get in and get out before anyone really asks anything. Simple. Once Nashi found what she was looking for, she went over to the cashier.

"Just the toothbrush, sweetie?" The cashier asked and Nashi nodded her head. The cashier rang it up and Nashi handed over the money. Simple and done like Nashi thought. Just as Nashi turned around, she accidently bumped into someone.

"Sorry." Nashi said, but she got scared when she looked up and saw Mr. Grubber was the one who she bumped into. Nashi was starting to get scared again and started to back away from her. Mr. Grubber kept staring at her and when Nashi reached the door, she ran as fast as she could to get back home. Nashi was having a blast of being home alone at first, but now she's constantly getting scared and she can't go to her Lucy or Natsu for comfort. Nashi wasn't having so much fun anymore.

….

Mard Geer

"We got a few good stuff!" Kyoka said as she and Tempester finished loading up the van with another empty house they robbed.

"The house may not look that fancy, but there was some valuable objects in there." Tempester said.

"Goes to show you that no matter how small a house seems, there's always something valuable in there." Mard Geer said as they hopped in.

"Can we get something to eat now?" Jackal said.

"Do you always have to say something stupid?" Kyoka said.

"What? I'm hungry." Jackal said and the two of them started to argue as Tempester was getting ready to drive off. The four of them got distracted from all the arguing that they didn't noticed Nashi walking across from them. "Hey! Watch it!" They spotted Nashi and Tempester pulled over. Nashi got scared again thinking the van was going to hit her, but it stopped just short. "Careful. It's another thing to run a kid over." Jackal said. Nashi moved away from the van, but they lowered the window talked to her.

"Hey, kid. Be more careful." Tempester said.

"Sorry." Nashi said.

"Careful. You don't want to spend Christmas in a hospital, kiddo." Jackal said. "Santa doesn't visit funerals

"Enough." Mard Geer said.

"Yeah. Run along now and Merry Christmas." Kyoka said. Nashi got a good look at Jackal and Kyoka and she was able to recognize them as the police from earlier. She was also able to figure out from their voices that they were the guys from last night. Mard Geer noticed the look on her face. Nashi turned away and calmly walked away thinking no one saw anything.

"Did you see that?" Mard Geer asked.

"What?" Jackal asked.

"The way she looked at you and Kyoka. Have you two seen her before?" Mard Geer asked.

"How would we know? We've seen a bunch of kids." Kyoka said.

"Something doesn't seem right." Mard Geer said as he had some suspicions.

"So what do we do?" Tempester said.

"Follow her. Let's see where she goes." Mard Geer said. Tempester did what he was told and pulled the van out and slowly followed Nashi. Nashi could hear them from behind. When she turned around, the four of them acted like everything was natural. Nashi kept walking, but she started to pick up the pace until she was running.

"Why's she running?" Tempester asked.

"She must know something. Why else would she be running?" Mard Geer questioned.

"But she's just a kid. What would she know?" Jackal said.

"Follow her." Mard Geer said and they continued to follow her. Nashi was moving as fast as she could, but she knew she couldn't lead them back to her house. Nashi was running by a church and saw how she can hide. Nashi ducked down before they could see her. The four of them drove by the church, but they didn't see her. "Where'd she go?"

"Maybe she went in the church." Jackal said.

"It's just a kid. Why are we wasting time with her?" Kyoka said.

"She looked at the two of you strangely." Mard Geer said. "I have my suspicions. We might want to keep our eyes open for that girl." Mard Geer was suspicious, but the rest of them didn't think a girl was a problem. When they couldn't find her, they drove off. Nashi came out of hiding from behind a native display and ran back home. She knew those creeps would be coming back.

"If those guys come back, I'll be ready." Nashi said as she headed straight home with an idea to keep them away.

…

Later

Mard Geer and the others drove back to the house, but it didn't look vacant anymore. The lights were on and it looked like there was a party going on in there. You can see the silhouettes of people through the windows.

"What? There weren't this many people in there before." Jackal said. "Did they come back early?"

"From Paris? That's too long of a flight and a drive." Kyoka said.

"So what's going on? Who could be in there?" Tempester questioned. What none of them could see was that all those people were bunch of dummies that Nashi was surprisingly smart enough to make and was moving them around like they were puppets. She knew they would come back and this is to have them think the house is filled with people.

"What do we do now?" Jackal asked.

"Let's just get out of here before someone sees us. Something doesn't seem right." Mard Geer said. They drove off and Nashi stuck her head out thinking she had them fooled.

…

Paris

Over at Paris, everyone just stayed at the hotel in a suite until they learn more about Nashi. Everyone is doing what they can, but it isn't easy. Natsu has been on the phone and was trying to get someone to reach Nashi.

"Do you speak English?" Natsu asked, but he was having trouble. "Parla ooh… Sela… Sela…" Natsu was trying to speak French, but it wasn't easy. "I'm looking for my daughter! Do you know where she is?!"

"Any luck?" Gray said.

"No. I can't get a hold of anyone." Natsu said. Everyone is worried about her, but it seems like there isn't much they can do.

"This is practically pointless." Ul said.

"What are you talking about?" Storm asked his sister.

"Mrs. Dragneel is in that airport. Nashi is home alone. There's nothing we can really do." Ul said.

"If you ask me, Nashi is lucky. She got to be home alone." Storm said. Everyone may have seemed worried, but Storm isn't.

"Not on purpose." Ul said.

"Maybe, but she acted like a spoiled princess." Storm said. "I bet this will get her to behave when she has guests over."

"Aren't you the least bit worried something bad might happen to her?" Ul asked.

"Not really. She lives in such a big house with a lot of money. They probably have a great security system." Storm said. "She also lives on a boring street where nothing really happens. What's the worst that could happen to her?"

…..

Nashi

Nashi was still having some fun. The pizza delivery boy from before drove up to the house with a single pizza all for Nashi. He walked up to the door and knocked on it.

"Pizza!" The delivery boy said. The door opened up, but he couldn't see who it was.

"How much?" Nashi hid behind the door and stood on a chair. She also made her voice sound different to have him think she was older

"Uh… That would be ten dollars and ninety-five cents, ma'am." The pizza boy said as he thought this was weird. Nashi stayed hidden as she reached around the door and handed the money.

"You can just slide pizza through the door." Nashi said. The pizza boy thought that was strange, but he did it.

"Is everything okay?" The pizza boy asked.

"Yes. I just stepped out of the bathroom." Nashi said. The pizza boy was actually going to take a look, but Nashi poked him in the eyes. "How dare you!"

"Sorry!" The pizza boy as he ran out as fast as he could. Nashi laughed as she saw him take off and now she has a pizza all to herself.

….

Lucy

Lucy remained at an airport as she tried to get a seat back home. She was able to talk to an elderly lady and she was trying to convince her to give Lucy her seat on the plane.

"So I'm willing to offer my earrings, a nice ring, and a gold watch." Lucy said.

"All of this sounds lovely." The lady said.

"Yes. So what do you say?" Lucy said as she's really hoping this will get her home to Nashi.

"Mildred, we need to board." The husband said.

"Victor, this kind young woman is willing to offer us all these fabulous accessories for our seats." Mildred said.

"Please?" Lucy said.

"She has plenty of earrings of her own. Let's go." Victor said as he tried to get Mildred on the plane.

"I'm desperate." Lucy said and got their attention. "My little girl is home all alone. Something might have happened to her. Please, from one mother to another." Lucy is desperate to get to Nashi and she'll do anything to get that to happen. Both of them felt sorry for her and they obliged by giving them their tickets and Lucy was able to catch a plane back to America.

….

Nashi

Nashi was able to fend off those criminals again, but she knows that they might come back.

"Hope Mommy and Daddy come back soon. I don't think those four are finished yet." Nashi said. She thought about calling the police, but who is going to believe a six year old girl that she's home all alone and is dealing with four criminals. She also doesn't have any evidence against these guys. Nashi went right into her parents' room as she got herself ready for bed and turned on the television. Over in Paris, everyone couldn't really sleep because they were all worried about Nashi. In Truth, Storm was too, but he just wouldn't admit it. As for Nashi, she was watching a family movie and it made her miss her parents. She pulled out a framed photo of her with her parents and she's really missing them. "Mommy, Daddy, where are you?" She hugged the photo and really wanted them by her side, now of all times. She may have had some fun being alone, but now she's regretting it.


	5. Time to Take a Stand

Natsu can't really get any sleep. How can he when his daughter is all by herself at home and his wife is somewhere in the air. As Natsu was still at work, Laxus came by and saw him still up.

"Hey, Natsu." Laxus said.

"Laxus? What are you doing up?" Natsu said.

"Who are we kidding?" Laxus said as he sat next to Natsu. "No one can sleep. We're all worried about Nashi. Any news about her."

"No, not yet." Natsu said.

"What about from Lucy?" Laxus said.

"Actually, yeah. She managed to get a plane." Natsu said. "She's on her way to get her. I just hope Nashi will be okay."

"I'm sure she is." Laxus said. "Listen, I know I give Nashi a hard time, but that's to help toughen her up. Besides, she's your kid. I know she'll be all right." That actually did make Natsu feel a little better.

"Thanks, Laxus. I hope you're right." Natsu said

…

Nashi

Another day, another crazy situation for Nashi to get in. One thing Nashi has to learn to do now is shopping. She's going to need food and other supplies to help her get through until her parents can come back. That means she actually had to do some shopping on her own. Nashi went with her parents so many times and she might know a thing or two. Nashi moved a cart around and was able to grab some milk. The other customers thought it was strange to see a little girl doing some shopping.

"Pushing the cart for Mommy?" A lady asked.

"Something like that." Nashi said.

"What a well behaved little girl. I bet Santa is going to give you a lot of toys." The lady said. Nashi continued shopping and got somethings that were needed around the house. She pushed the cart up to a cashier and started checking out the items.

"Do you know if those microwave dinners are any good?" Nashi asked.

"I think so. They're quick and easy." The cashier said. "Are you here by yourself?"

"I'm only six years old. Would a six year old be here by herself?" Nashi said.

"Where's your mom?" The cashier asked.

"In the car." Nashi said.

"Your dad?" The cashier asked.

"At work." Nashi said.

"Brothers or sisters?" The cashier asked.

"I'm an only child." Nashi said. The only part that isn't a lie.

"Where do you live?" The cashier asked.

"I can't tell you that. You're a stranger." Nashi said. She was able to pull it off like it was no problem and managed to get her groceries.

…

The Dragneel House

Nashi was able to get home with groceries such as milk, eggs, and other stuff needed around the house. She even got fabric softener and was doing some laundry. For a six year old, she was surprisingly being grown-up. Nashi figured out how to work the washer.

"Nashi!" Nashi turned to the furnace and her imagination was still thinking it was like a monster.

"Shut up." Nashi said. After what's been going on, a fake monster is the last thing she's afraid of. Meanwhile, Mard Geer and the others were in their van and watching the house.

"I don't get it." Kyoka said. "Last night, the house was packed like there was a party. Now the place seems empty again."

"This is becoming very weird." Tempester said.

"Jackal, go take a look around the back." Mard Geer said. He told him to do it, but Jackal stayed where he was. All of them looked at him.

"Oh! You mean now." Jackal said.

"Yes, now!" Kyoka said and practically shoved him out the van. Jackal made his way around the house and headed for the backdoor. Jackal noticed a doggie door in the backdoor. He flipped it around to see anything. What he couldn't see was Nashi in the kitchen and spotted the door flipping around. When she saw that, she got a crazy idea to use Gajeel's movie. She got it in place and turned up the volume.

"Doesn't look like anyone is there." Jackal said and was about to look inside for himself.

"I know who you are, but you know who I am, don't you?" Jackal thought that was an actual person he heard. "Around here, they call me Snake because I can be like one."

"Snake?" Jackal questioned. Nashi used the remote to speed the movie to the right lines.

"Now, I'm going to give you the count of three to get out. One…. Two….." Jackal suddenly heard gunfire and he ran the heck out of there. Jackal ran back to the van and he seemed pretty spooked.

"What happened?" Tempester said.

"I'm not entirely sure." Jackal said. "I heard some guy called Snake in there. I think he knew I was watching. Suddenly, we went crazy with him packing heat. I got out of there as fast as I could."

"Snake?" Kyoka questioned.

"Yeah. The dude sounds crazy." Jackal said. "I do a lot of things for a good gig, but I'm not going to deal with this guy."

"I guess we should leave." Tempester said as he was ready to pull out, but Mard Geer was having other thoughts.

"Hold on." Mard Geer said and kept them from leaving. "I say we wait and see what this guy is all about. Jackal, what happened in there exactly?" Mard Geer was no dummy. If something doesn't seem right to him, it usually is.

…

Lucy

Lucy was able to make it back to America, but she was still miles away from Nashi. She was trying to get another flight home, but she was having the same luck as she did back in Paris.

"You don't have anything opened?" Lucy said as she has run out of patience.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. There isn't anything open." The man said.

"Listen, I have been up for hours." Lucy said. "I'm tired. I have been from America to France. From Paris to….where am I?"

"Scranton." The man said.

"To Scranton." Lucy said. "I am trying to get home to my little daughter and she is home all alone! There must be something!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do." The man said. Lucy moved away from the desk and she doesn't know what to do.

"Excuse me." She noticed a man in a yellow jacket talking to her. "I'm Gus Gasavo. I'm in a polka band that travels around. I couldn't help, but overhear. Are you having some problems reaching your kid for Christmas or something?"

"Yeah. My daughter was left home by accident." Lucy said.

"You're trying to get to Chicago, right?" Gus asked.

"Magnolia. It's a small town just outside of Chicago to the south." Lucy said.

"Well, we're actually heading in that direction. We couldn't get a plane, but we managed to get a truck to carry us and our instruments." Gus said.

"Are you saying you'll give me a ride?!" Lucy said as she was happy to hear all of that.

"Yeah. It sounds like you need help." Gus said.

"Yes. Thank you." Lucy said as she felt she was going to make it to Nashi.

…

The Dragneel House

Mard Geer and the others continued to wait it outside the house to see who this Snake was. Mard Geer was paying attention, but the others weren't so much. Mard Geer watched the house and he noticed Nashi coming out and saw her setting up some Christmas decorations outside. Mard Geer recognized her and knew something wasn't right.

"What do we have here?" Mad Geer said.

"What is it?" Tempester asked.

"I think we're being fooled by a kindergartner. Come on." Mard Geer said as he stepped outside and they all followed. Nashi went back inside and continued decorating. She was able to get a small tree that she was decorating. Mard Geer and the others snuck around and Mard Geer took a look through the window, but Nashi spotted him through the reflection of the ornaments.

"Daddy, can you help me?!" Nashi said as she tried to make it sound like someone was still here, but MArd Geer was too smart.

"What is it?" Kyoka said.

"You remember that little girl we followed the other day? Turns out I was right about her. She lives here." Mard Geer said.

"Well, if she's here, the parents must be too." Jackal said.

"No. She's all alone in there. She's just been fooling us." Mard Geer said and saw an opportunity. Nashi climbed upstairs and listened to them talking.

"You want to come back? Even with the kid here?" Tempester said.

"She's just a little girl. What can she do?" Kyoka said.

"We'll come back when it gets dark." Mard Geer said.

"Good idea. Little kids are scared of the dark." Jackal said.

"We should come back by nine. She'll probably be asleep by then." Kyoka said.

"Excellent. Let's go." Mard Geer said and they started leaving. Nashi heard every word and was starting to get scared again.

"Mommy, where are you?" Nashi said. Nashi was hoping Lucy would hurry back, but Lucy is still miles away listening to polka. As the four of them were leaving, Mard Geer noticed something next door. He saw Mr. Grubber out there and he thought the whole neighborhood was empty. Having a witness around could be dangerous depending on how things go with Nashi.

…

Later

Nashi was on her own for real this time. Her parents won't make it back in time to help her and she doesn't know what to do exactly. Nashi decided to pay a visit to the church since some people come here to pray and Nashi's praying for some sort of miracle. Nashi wasn't too familiar with the place as she went inside and her the choir. There were a few people around and Nashi took a seat since she wasn't sure what else to do.

"Hello." Nashi looked to the side and got scared again when he saw Mr. Grubber. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you, especially in a church. May I sit?" Nashi let him and he sat next to her. "I know what you must think of me. I've heard the rumors myself, but none of them are true."

"They're not?" Nashi said.

"No, but I guess I can see why people would say that." Mr. Grubber said.

"How?" Nashi said.

"My son is still alive, but he actually left home after we had an argument." Mr. Grubber said. "People probably thought I did kill him because some people heard us arguing, but he ran off."

"So what are you doing here?" Nashi asked.

"See that girl in the choir with the red hair?" Mr. Grubber said as he pointed to her. "She's actually my granddaughter. I'm not one for coming to church, but I will for her. Especially since I don't get to see her that often."

"That's nice." Nashi said.

"What about you? What are you doing roaming around by yourself?" Mr. Grubber said. "Are you trying to run away from home yourself?"

"No. I did argue with my mom. I was just mad because it felt like she wasn't listening to me. I did say somethings to Mommy I shouldn't have." Nashi said.

"And you end up regretting it?" Mr. Grubber said and she did. "I know what that's like. I said some things to my son I shouldn't have either. I have thought about picking up the phone and calling him, but I'm actually afraid to."

"You're afraid? Aren't you a little old to be?" Nashi said.

"You're never too old to be afraid." Mr. Grubber said. "The real problem with fear is if you're going to let it rule you or gather the courage to face it."

"Well, I think you should call him and just try to talk to him." Nashi said. "If you're granddaughter is here, he has to be here too. This could be your chance to. I think your granddaughter will like it and maybe your son will too."

"You really think I should?" Mr. Grubber said.

"I may have argued with Mommy, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see her anymore." Nashi said. "I don't see a reason to be afraid of your own family."

"But what if he doesn't want to talk to me?" Mr. Grubber said.

"At least you got the courage to talk to him." Nashi said. Mr. Grubber smiled from Nashi's words.

"You're pretty smart for someone so young." Mr. Grubber said. Nashi thought about what she just said and took a look at the clock. It would be nine soon and she knew what she needed to do. She can't be afraid for her family because if those criminals get their way, it will affect her whole family.

"I have to go. Nice talking to you, Mr. Grubber." Nashi said as she wasn't afraid of him anymore.

….

The Dragneel House

Nashi ran all the way back to her house. She's the only one standing between the house and those criminals. Even if she is only six, that doesn't mean she can't fight back.

"No more being scared." Nashi said. She knows she can't take them on in a real fight, but she can outsmart them and trick them with traps. Nashi used everything around the house that she could find. She soaked the basement entrance and the front entrance with water. She grabbed her suction shooter and her squirt gun, thinking they can help. She took some glue and placed it on some nails that she set around some stairs. She took an electric box and attached a cable to a doorknob. She set up various traps around the house so when those four get there, she'll be ready for them.


	6. The Traps

The hour of fate was almost upon. It would be nine soon and Mard Geer and the others will arrive at the house at any moment. As for Mr. Grubber, he made it home. He thought about what Nashi said and saw she was right. He's ready to make amends with his estranged son. However, just as he entered his house, something knocked him on the back of his head and knocked out.

"Hello? I hope I didn't hit you that hard." Mr. Grubber was starting to wake up, but when he did, he was in his kitchen and he was tied to a chair. "I'm quite sorry about this." He looked around and spotted Mard Geer. "It's just that I'm a cautious man. With you right next door, I can't have you ruining everything."

"What is this? Who are you?" Mr. Grubber said.

"You don't need to worry. You don't have really anything to worry about." Mard Geer said. "I just need to make sure you don't cause some problems. I could finish you myself, but since you're an elder, I'll show a rare form of mercy. I'll just let Jack Frost have his way with you." Mard Geer opened up the windows wide and let the brisk air in. "Oh, I hope you're not too fond of that little girl next door. I'm afraid you might not see much of her again."

"No. No you can't." Mr. Grubber said as he knew what was happening. "She's just a little girl."

"Not when we're through with her." Mard Geer said as he let himself out and left Mr. Grubber in a cold house that will get colder and colder. Mard Geer stepped out where the others were waiting.

"You took care of that loose end you mentioned?" Kyoka said.

"Indeed." Mard Geer said.

"So what's the plan?" Jackal said.

"We'll go in through the back. Let's try the settle approach." Mard Geer said. All four of them made their way to the back of the house, none aware of what was to come. They went for the back with Mard Geer knocking. "Merry Christmas. We know you're in there, little girl. All alone."

"Come on, kid. It's Santa. We got gifts for you." Jackal said with all of them sharing a chuckle as they all taunted her. Nashi wasn't going to let them get to her. Nashi was making the first move as she took an old golf club she found and got ready.

"Open up. Cooperate and we won't have to hurt you." Tempester said.

"Don't use big words. She probably doesn't know what they mean." Kyoka said as Nashi slowly slid the club through the doggie door.

"Hello? Little girl?" Mard Geer said. Nashi took the club and shoved it with it hitting Mard Geer right in his leg. "Ow!" Mard Geer hopped around as he held the leg. "What was that?"

"I'll take a look." Jackal said as he dropped down. He stuck his head through the small door, but he didn't see Nashi standing over him and positioned herself like a golfer.

"Fore!" Nashi shouted. Jackal just noticed her as Nashi swung and hit Jackal right in the head with the club and forced him out.

"Aw! That kid actually hit me!" Jackal said.

"Come and get me, you big dummies!" Nashi shouted.

"You don't want to mess with us, kid." Kyoka said.

"I'm not sacred of you, old hag!" Nashi said. Kyoka felt really offended by that and she's going to make her pay big time for that.

"That's it! Let's get her!" Kyoka said.

"She's only one kid. She can't fight off all of us." Mard Geer said. "Kyoka and I will go in through the front. Jackal and Tempester, go in through the basement." All of them agreed and split up with Kyoka and Mard Geer heading for the front.

"I'll show that little brat I'm no old hag." Kyoka said.

"Calm yourself, Kyoka." Mard Geer said. The two of them kept walking, but didn't notice the ice and they both ended up slipping and hit the ground pretty hard. Jackal and Tempester were about to make their way through the basement. They took their first step, but when they did, they both ended up slipping as well on ice and fell down the stairs.

"What?" Jackal said. Both entrances had ice surrounding them and it was hard to move.

"Where did this ice come from?" Kyoka said.

"It's just ice. It can't stop us." Mard Geer said as he tried to walk, but he slipped again and accidently kicked Kyoka right in the gut. Jackal and Tempester tried to stand, but the bottom of the stairs were covered in ice as well. They used the walls and were able to keep their balance.

"Okay. Let's try and get this door open." Jackal kicked against the door to try and bust it open, but it wouldn't budge.

"Jackal…" Tempester said. He twisted the knob and it came open. Jackal felt stupid, but they brushed it aside and went inside. As for Mard Geer and Kyoka, Mard Geer helped Kyoka as he reached out for her and pulled her over with them now at the front door.

"Thanks for making me almost cough up dinner." Kyoka said.

"Forget it. Let's just go." Mard Geer said. Mard Geer reached for the door knob, but he ended up getting mildly electrocuted.

"What's wrong?" Kyoka said as she grabbed him, but she was getting shocked as well for an electric box was connected to the door knob and had a current running through it. Mard Geer was able to pull his hand away, but they were both feeling it.

"She electrified the door?" Mard Geer said.

"She probably has the whole house trapped." Kyoka said.

"Come on. Let's try the back again." Kyoka said.

…..

The Basement

As they retraced their steps, Jackal and Tempester were in the basement. They treaded carefully at first, but it seems like there wasn't another trap.

"Ha. I knew it was just dumb luck with that ice." Jackal said and spotted the stairs. "There. Let's go!"

"Jackal, wait!" Tempester said, but he wouldn't listen. Tempester was too late as Jackal ended up slipping on some water on the floor and landed on the stairs that was covered in nails.

"AAAAWWWWW!" Jackal screamed and had trouble getting back up. Tempester went to take a look and he noticed the nails were glued to the stairs.

"A little clever." Tempester said.

"Try more like painful." Jackal said as he tried to pull himself out of the nails and it all really hurt.

…..

The Backyard

"Careful, Kyoka. This door might be rigged with a trap as well." Mard Geer said. Kyoka was careful as she tapped around the door knob a few times to make sure it was safe.

"We're good." Kyoka said and got the door open. Right when she did, it activated a pulley system that activated a small blowtorch that was blowing a flame dangerously close to the top of Kyoka's head. "Something smells like its burning."

"Yes! Your hair!" Mard Geer said. Kyoka started to feel it and panicked. Kyoka ran outside and shoved her head in the snow to cool it down. Mard Geer acted as he pushed through the door and knocked the blowtorch down and was now in the kitchen. "Now where is she?" Mard Geer pulled out a small gun to show Nashi he means business. Mard Geer had a look around and noticed something. Another frame photo with names on it. "Nashi?" He put the gun down on an island and had a look. As for Nashi, she stayed hidden behind the island. Kyoka came running in and was really mad.

"Where is that little creep?!" Kyoka said.

"Nashi." Mard Geer said.

"What?" Kyoka said. As the two of them were distracted, Nashi reached for the real gun and replaced it with a fake one.

"Who cares what her name is?! She's going to be a dead kid!" Kyoka said. Nashi ran out and looked back.

"Over here!" Nashi called. The two of them turned and saw her.

"There she is!" Kyoka said. MArd Geer grabbed the gun and they both took after her. Meanwhile, Jackal was finally free from the nails and he and Tempester decided to find another way. The two of them stepped back outside and soon spotted an open window that they can use. Kyoka and Mard Gear chased after Nashi and saw her run into another room.

"Oh no. I'm really scared." Nashi said.

"It's too late, kid." Kyoka said.

"You know we're already in the house." Mard Geer said. What they didn't know was that Nashi had another trap set for them. They got the door open, but they walked right into plastic wrap. When that happened, Nashi turned on a giant fan and a bunch of feathers were blown against the two of them when they got the wrap out of the way. Nashi ran off and laughed at that one, but she heard a window open and saw Jackal was getting inside and he spotted her.

"Gotch ya!" Jackal said. He jumped right in the house, but he landed on a small trampoline and it caused him to jump up and hit his head against the ceiling. Tempester stuck his head in, but that caused Jackal to smash against them. Nashi laughed at that and ran up the stairs.

"We underestimated this kid." Tempester said.

"She's just one kid. We can take her." Jackal said. All four of them were able to regroup and were surprised to see each other.

"What happened to you?" Kyoka said.

"What happened to you?" Jackal said.

"We underestimated this child. She probably has the whole house rigged with traps." Mard Geer said.

"I'm up here you, dummies!" Nashi called on the stairs. All of them went after her, but Jackal and Mard Geer slipped on marbles that were at the bottom of the steps and accidently kicked Kyoka and Tempester in the face. "Had enough?"

"Not even close, you little brat." Kyoka said. Nashi ran all the way up the stairs and got ready for the next part.

"I'll get her." Tempester said. He was heading up, but Nashi swung a paint can connected to a rope. When it came down, it hit Tempester right in the face and knocked him off the stairs and landed on Jackal.

"Nice try." Mard Geer said as he took his turn, but he fell for the same trick as he got hit by a paint can as well as he landed on Kyoka. Nashi was really enjoying this.

"That does it, kid!" Kyoka shouted as she and the rest of them ran up the stairs. Nashi ran as fast as she could to hide. They made it to the second floor, but they didn't see her. However, Tempester did see a door close.

"There." Tempester said as he went for the door. He tried to get it open, but it was stuck. "I'm coming, kid."

"Tempester, what are you doing?" Kyoka said.

"The kid is in here." Tempester said and was able to get it open. "And behind door number one…." He opened it, but it was just a closet. "…a closet. I saw this door close."

"It was probably just the wind. Find her." Mard Geer said. All of them split up and looked around to find her. Nashi actually was in the closet, but she used what was in there to hide. She snuck out and was sneaking past all of them with her setting a tripwire. Nashi was also able to grab a phone and was getting ready for the final piece.

"Hello, police. My house is being robbed. I live on 777 Mavis Street." Nashi said on the phone and ended the call. "Over here!" Nashi said and Jackal was the first to spot her.

"There she is!" Jackal shouted. Nashi ran up the stairs to the third floor. All of them chased after her, but they ended up tripping on the wire. Mard Geer didn't. He was seeing a pattern and went a different way.

…

Nashi

Nashi went up to the third floor and was getting ready. She took an old dumbwaiter and removed the bottom of it with her hiding it. Nashi could hear them coming and needed to get out. Nashi ran for a zip line that connected that floor with an old treehouse and she started riding all the way there.

"Where is she?!" Kyoka shouted as three of them ran up the stairs. They searched around for her, but couldn't find Nashi.

"Where'd she go?" Jackal said.

"She has to be here somewhere!" Kyoka said.

"You're not going find me in there!" Nashi called.

"She's outside!" All three of them said and ran for the window, spotting her in the treehouse.

"Better hurry. I'm calling the cops." Nashi said.

"How did she get outside?" Jackal said.

"Same way you two are." Kyoka said. "You two use that rope to get her. I'll watch your backs." Both of them thought she was crazy, but they didn't bother arguing with her. Jackal and Tempester grabbed the rope and slowly climbed across it. What they didn't see was Nashi pulling out hedge clippers and shook the rope a little with them.

"Kyoka, stop moving the rope!" Jackal said.

"It's not me." Kyoka said as she pointed to Nashi. Both of them looked over and saw her ready to cut it. Jackal pleaded for her not to do it, but Nashi nodded her head.

"Go back! Go Back!" Jackal said as she and Tempester tried going back, but it was too late. Nashi cut the rope the whole way and both of them started falling. Both of them slammed against the wall of the house and hit the ground. Nashi climbed down and stood near them.

"Hi." Nashi said. Both of them tried to get up, but they noticed something that was hidden just under the snow. It was a whole bunch of flypapers stick together.

"Flypaper?!" Jackal said.

"A bunch all sticking together like one giant one. I can't get up." Tempester said. Nashi looked up at Kyoka and waved goodbye with her leaving. Kyoka wasn't going to let her escape. Just as she was about to go after her, she noticed the dumbwaiter.

"Of course." Kyoka said as she could see it now. She opened up and didn't' even notice the missing bottom. "Here I come, you little brat." Kyoka managed to get in, but she fell right through the shaft since there was no floor. She fell all the way to the bottom and was now trapped. That was three down and one to go.


	7. Reunited At Last

Nashi succeeded in outsmarting three criminals and had them trapped. Nashi was running and just needed to wait for the police. She kept running until she realized something.

"Weren't there four?" Nashi questioned as she realized one was missing. She had to put that thought aside as she heard some moaning and saw the windows to Mr. Grubber's house was open. Nashi hurried over and managed to get inside. When she did, she saw Mr. Grubber freezing. "Mr. Grubber!"

"Nashi!" Mr. Grubber said as he was glad to see her. "You're not hurt."

"You need some warmth." Nashi said as she tried to untie him. As she was trying to help him out, Mard Geer revealed himself.

"Hello." Mard Geer said and got her attention. "It's Nashi, right?" Nashi backed away as he walked closer to her. "I must admit that you're quite clever for someone so young, but not smart enough." Mard Geer lifted her up and placed her on the counter.

"What do you even want?" Nashi said.

"I was aiming to take every house while everyone was away and your house is a cut above the rest." Mard Geer said. "You've caused some trouble, but it's over now."

"Nothing in my house belongs to you." Nashi said. "You're too late. I've already called the police and they'll be here to send you to jail."

"Not if I have a child as a hostage." Mard Geer said as he pulled out a gun and scared Mr. Grubber, but Nashi knew better.

"That's not yours either." Nashi said.

"What?" Mard Geer said.

"Look at the end." Nashi said. Mard Geer looked at the end of the gun and saw something was strange. He aimed it away from her and shoot it, but all that came out was a suction cup dart. "This is yours." Nashi pulled out a gun and aimed it right at Mard Geer. This time, it was his turn to be scared.

"Easy. That's not a toy." Mard Geer said. Nashi made quick movements with her arms like she was about to shoot and Mard Geer ran out there. The police just showed and when they did, Mard Geer smashed right through the window. Mard Geer was about to run, but the police came at him and kept him from running.

"Hang on. I know him. This is Mard Geer. He and his friends are wanted in a dozen areas." The officer said. Nashi came over with Mr. Grubber and Mard Geer looked at her.

"Gotch ya." Nashi said as she showed the gun she was holding was really her squirt gun. Mard Geer couldn't believe it. A criminal mastermind like him outsmarted by a six year old girl. "Officers, there are two more stuck in the backyard next door and the last one trapped in the dumbwaiter in the basement."

"Let's go." An officer said as they went inside and saw Jackal and Tempester trapped.

"You've got to be kidding." Tempester said. Some officers went inside and were able to get Kyoka out of the dumbwaiter as well. Thanks to Nashi, four criminals are finally going to jail.

"You've got to admit, the kid has talent." Jackal said.

"Shut up!" Kyoka said as she kicked him. All four of them were loaded into the car and were taken away with Nashi waving them goodbye. With them gone, Nashi cleaned up her house and got back to preparing for Christmas. She had a tree, had the stockings set, presents under the tree, and placed milk and cookies. All that was left was for her family to show up. She's hoping they'll make it back tomorrow.

….

Lucy

"I'm a bad mother." Lucy said.

"No you're not." Gus said. Lucy was still guilt ridden about the whole thing with Nashi and Gus is trying to cheer her up while the van kept driving.

"I left my six year old daughter all alone and went to Paris." Lucy said. "What kind of mother would do such a thing?"

"You said so yourself that it was an accident." Gus said. "Let me ask. How did something like happen in the first place."

"We were in a rush to catch a plane." Lucy said. "None of us thought to go upstairs to her get her. I don't know. Maybe we assumed she was in her room or something, but no. She was in a different room as punishment."

"Why was she being punished?" Gus asked.

"She was acting out and causing some trouble." Lucy said.

"Why was she acting out?" Gus asked, but Lucy was a little confused about the question. "You said she's only six and you said that she's usually well behaved. One thing I know about kids is that when they act out, it's usually to get their parents attention."

"Nashi's an only child and my husband and I always have time for her. She always has our attention" Lucy said.

"Well, there's usually some sort of reason for them acting out." Gus said. "Did she explain herself?" Lucy thought back to when she talked to Nashi last time.

"No." Lucy said.

"Did she at least say she was sorry?" Gus asked.

"She did, but it was too late." Lucy said.

"It's never too late to say you're sorry." Gus said. Lucy was beginning to see if she had handled things differently with Nashi this time, none of this would have happened, but then her house would have been robbed.

…..

The Next Day

Fresh snow started to fall and it was Christmas Day. Nashi woke up after sleeping in her parents' room. When she saw the snow and it was morning, she got really happy and hoped her parents were finally home.

"Mom! Dad!" Nashi called out as she ran down the stairs, but she was disappointed when she didn't see them. "Mommy?! Daddy?!" She looked around, but didn't see them. She took a look outside, but there wasn't a sign of them. All Nashi wanted was for them to be home. Nashi went back inside, but she just missed the van pulled up to the house. Nashi went back upstairs and stared at the family photo thinking this was going to be a lonely Christmas…until she heard the door.

"Nashi?!" Lucy called. "Nashi?!" Lucy looked around for her, but she stopped when she saw the Christmas decorations in the living room and was amazed with what Nashi has done.

"Mommy?!" Nashi ran downstairs, but didn't see her. When Lucy heard her, she saw her daughter and was so happy to see her. Nashi turned around and was finally faced with her mother.

"Merry Christmas, honey." Lucy said, but Nashi didn't look that happy and Lucy was afraid she was still mad at her. "Nashi, I'm so sorry….for everything." Nashi didn't care about that anymore. She was just happy to see her mother again. She ran right into her arms and Lucy held her tight as she didn't want to let her go. At last, she was with her daughter again.

"Where's Daddy?" Nashi asked.

"Oh… He couldn't make it, sweetie. He wanted to, but…." Lucy didn't get to finish that as they heard the door open. It wasn't just Natsu, it was everyone that came back.

"Nashi!" Natsu called as he went straight at her and lifted her up as he was so glad to see her again. "You're okay!" Everyone looked happy to see Nashi again.

"You all came back?" Lucy asked.

"Of course." Mirajane said.

"We were all worried about Nashi." Levy said.

"She didn't burn her house down. Impressive." Storm said.

"Wait a minute. How did you all even get here?" Lucy asked.

"That flight you didn't want to wait for." Gray said. Now Lucy felt like an idiot.

"Well, someone has to find an open store. We don't have milk here or anything." Lucy said.

"I went shopping." Nashi said. When she said that, all of them were really shocked to hear that.

"Very funny, Nashi." Natsu said as he thought there was no way to be true.

"She's not joking!" Jellal called from the kitchen. All of them went inside and saw Jellal standing in front of an open fridge with Erza and Gajeel examining it.

"Fresh milk, eggs…" Erza said.

"I don't even see a truck load of candy anywhere." Gajeel said.

"Nashi, you really did all this?" Lucy asked as they were all amazed that Nashi were able to do this all by herself and she's only six. All of them heard a knock on the door and were wondering. "Who could that be?" Lucy walked over to the door and saw there was a police officer there. "Is there a problem officer?"

"No. Not at all." The officer said as Lucy allowed him in. "Is there a Nashi Dragneel around here?" Natsu stepped forward with him holding Nashi in his arms. "So it's all really true."

"What is?" Natsu asked.

"Last night, we arrested four criminals." The officer said. "Four criminals we've been after for months. They always managed to slip away. I wouldn't have believed this myself, but where local police have failed, they actually ended up getting caught by a six year old girl."

"Nashi, you tangled with criminals?!" Lucy said as she nearly had a heart attack.

"Yes and they were all caught thanks to her." The officer said and pulled out an envelope. "So I am here to deliver a reward for the young girl." Lucy took the envelope and saw there was a check inside it.

"Half a million dollars?!" Lucy said as they were all amazed by this.

"She got left home alone, caught criminals, and now she's getting paid for it?!" Storm said.

"Cool!" Damien said.

"I want to be left home alone!" Gale said as all the kids were thinking they could do it too.

"I don't know what made you folks leave a six year old girl home alone, but it ended up being a good thing." The officer said. "Next time, leave this stuff to the professionals, but great work little girl. Merry Christmas." The officer showed himself out. No one could really believe this as Natsu placed Nashi down. Everyone was sharing what they thought about this whole thing. As they were all talking, Nashi noticed something outside the window. She went over and had a look and saw it was Mr. Grubber with a family. He looked happy and she could tell that it was because he made amends with his son.

"What are you looking at?" Lucy said as she walked over to her.

"Just a nice old man meeting with his family again." Nashi said. Mr. Grubber noticed Nashi and waved to her and thanked her for this. Nashi waved back and Lucy was really happy about all this herself.

"Come on, Nashi." Lucy said as she lifted Nashi up and all of them went to celebrate Christmas together with no more worries and as a family.


End file.
